(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combination pepper mill and food seasoning dispenser. In particular, the present invention relates to a combination unit having a pepper mill section and a salt or other food seasoning dispensing section mounted together along a longitudinal axis of the sections. A plate is mounted in the pepper mill section, adjacent to the salt section, and serves to segregate the respective sections. The salt section has a perforated end wall for dispensing salt and other food seasonings. A first end of a centrally located shaft is mounted inside the salt section and extends through the plate to a second end of the shaft mounted in a lower, open end of the pepper mill section, opposite the salt section. A grinder wheel is mounted on the second end of the connecting shaft and is in an adjustable, closely spaced relationship with a serrated stator portion of the pepper mill. A biasing spring means is mounted on the shaft and extends between the plate and the grinder wheel. Together, the biasing spring and the shaft serve to hold the pepper mill section on the salt section and to hold the grinder wheel adjacent the serrated stator. That way, when the salt section is rotated relative to the pepper mill section, the grinder wheel rotates relative to the stator to pulverize peppercorn held in the pepper mill section. Also, the connecting shaft is in a sealed relationship with the segregating plate so that salt cannot move past the plate and enter the pepper mill section.
To fill the respective salt and pepper mill sections, the combination dispenser is inverted with the pepper mill section positioned vertically above the salt section. The sections are then pulled axially apart, against the tension of the biasing spring. This causes the salt section to partially separate from the pepper mill section for filling the salt section. At the same time, the open end of the pepper mill section moves away from the grinder wheel to allow for filling the pepper mill section with peppercorn. Food seasoning that can be dispensed from the salt dispenser section includes salt in the form of both sodium chloride and calcium chloride along with other herbs and spices that are added to food, primarily for the savor that the food seasoning imparts to the food.
The present invention also provides a pepper mill having a cover held on a container by a centrally located shaft and biasing spring. A grinder wheel is mounted on the shaft and is rotatable relative to a stator to pulverize peppercorn held in the pepper mill. In a similar manner as the combination pepper mill and food seasoning dispenser, the cover is moveable axially away from the container. This causes the shaft and grinder wheel to move relative to the stator to allow for filling the pepper mill with peppercorn.
(2) Prior Art
The prior art has described various types of combination containers for dispensing food seasoning such as salt and pepper and the like. The prior art containers use a variety of methods for filling the containers. Illustrative of the prior art combination containers are U.S. Pat. No. 595,481 to Jenatschke and Fischer; U.S. Pat. No. 1,264,134 to Quick; U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,887 to Grandinetti and U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,416 to Fohrman.
U.S. Pat. No. 595,481 to Jenatschke and Fischer describes a condiment box having a salt compartment mounted on top of a pepper compartment. The salt and pepper compartments are adapted to rotate relative to each other. The salt compartment has a perforated end wall for dispensing salt. The end wall is removeable to load salt into the salt compartment and to access a wing nut mounted on a centrally located stem that extends to a grinding element in the pepper compartment. The wing nut is unthreaded after the perforated end wall is removed from the salt dispenser to access the pepper compartment for filling the pepper compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,264,134 to Quick describes a combined salt shaker container and a pepper grinder container, stacked one on top of the other. A centrally located post extends from a pepper grinding bur to an arm of the post that engages an end wall of the salt shaker. When the salt shaker is rotated relative to the pepper grinder, peppercorn are ground between the grinder bur and a burred member of the pepper grinder. A collar member provides for separating the salt shaker container from the pepper grinder container for filling the salt shaker and the pepper grinder.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,887 to Grandinetti describes a salt shaker container and a pepper mill container mounted on top of each other. The salt shaker has an upper perforated lid with a filler opening that aligns with a second end wall plate for filling the salt shaker. The pepper mill is provided with a filler hole in the sidewall of the pepper mill that aligns with an opening in a skirt mounted on the sidewall of the pepper mill. The skirt is rotated so that the opening in the skirt and the filler hole in the pepper mill align for filling the pepper mill. A centrally located shaft extends through a boss located on the bottom of the salt shaker to a grinder element in the pepper mill. A spring is mounted on the shaft and together the spring and shaft serve to hold the salt shaker on the pepper mill; however, the salt shaker is not separable from the pepper mill. When the salt shaker is rotated relative to the pepper mill, the grinder element is also rotated to grind peppercorn held in the pepper mill.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,416 to Fohrman describes a combination salt and pepper shaker having a salt container mounted on top of a pepper container by a coupling. The containers have opposed end walls with perforations for dispensing salt and pepper. The containers are removeable from the coupling for filling. Covering caps are provided on each end wall to prevent dispensing from the compartments until required.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,439,259 to Pasnik describes a unitary salt dispenser having a valved bottom and a removeable cover. A depressible plunger is mounted in the bottom of the salt dispenser and serves to release salt from the dispenser when the plunger is depressed. The cover is partially separable from the salt dispenser for filling the dispenser. However, the cover is connected to the plunger by a shaft and during filling, the plunger has a tendency to move out of the bottom of the salt dispenser and spill salt, if the salt dispenser is not completely empty.
What is needed is a combination salt and pepper dispenser that is held together by a centrally located shaft that provides for partially separating the two dispensers for filling the dispensers. The centrally located shaft negates the need for aligning filler openings for filling the salt and pepper dispensers. The problem with aligning filler openings is that a build-up of food seasoning often accumulates between the rotatable members having the filler openings. This build-up causes the rotatable members to become loose and wear out. Also, the filler openings are usually relatively small, which makes it difficult to fill the dispenser through the openings without spilling food seasoning. Those devices that require part of the dispenser to be disassembled for filling, risk having the disassembled parts becoming lost.